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Grifal will inaugurate the expansion of the production center in Cologno al Serio (Bergamo) in September, which will reach a total investment of 15 million. The Bergamo-based company, active since 1969 in paper packaging and machinery for corrugating, resin gluing and packaging automation, will add four new production lines (all 4.0) of Cartú – the patented corrugated packaging cardboard , with characteristics capable of replacing polystyrene – and will double Italian production capacity. «Today we are ready for a significant leap in turnover», comments the president and CEO Fabio Gritti.
Revenues at 37.8 million
Grifal closed 2023 with revenues of 37.8 million (+2.5% compared to 2022), supported in particular by Cartù, whose sales went from 12.2 to 12.8 million euros and now represent 34% of the group’s consolidated revenues, which recorded an Ebitda of 5.6 million (+27.8% compared to 2022) and an Ebitda margin of 14.8% (it was 11.9% in 2022) .
Target 14 factories
Developing a European network of sites dedicated to the production and transformation of Artù is one of the projects the company is carrying out. The medium-term objective is to create, in partnership with other entities already present in those territories, around 14 new production sites in the main European countries, in addition to the Portuguese one built with Grupo José Neves active from 2023 and the proprietary plant in Timisoara , in Romania, launched in 2021. The assumed investment for each new production site is approximately two million euros to break even on the investment in 12 months and a potential turnover of 10 million euros.
Cartu and sustainability
«Our commitment is to make Cartù and the cushionPaper product line the new standard of eco-sustainable packaging, through the development of an international network of production sites in partnership with packaging manufacturing companies. Since its birth, the entire process of creating Cartù, a Grifal patent, has been characterized by its environmental performance and we are constantly committed to further reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions”, explains Gritti
The «cushionPaper» products, which put the softness of the Cartù corrugation at the service of protecting the goods, thanks to the paper waves that leave space between the layers, require up to 70% less raw material, a characteristic that makes them particularly suitable for the new packaging regulation (PPWR) approved in April by the European Parliament. They also require up to 80% less CO2 emissions than packaging made from plastic materials or traditional corrugated cardboard. They are totally recyclable and their production does not require steam or drying, guaranteeing zero water consumption and energy use that impacts only 2% of turnover.